MR. JAMES TROUNSON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20263, 24 May 1929, Page 10

MR. JAMES TROUNSON.

The death of Mr. James Trounson is an occasion for grateful recall of what he did throughout a long life for the Dominion. To him New Zealand was so completely the land of his adoption that he felt he owed to it the best he could give, and this, no mean bestowal, he gave .with a humble gladness that enriched the gift. His name is most closely associated with the history of North Auckland,. He came from England in one of the two pioneer ships of the Albertland settlement, shared the brunt of the buffetings bravely endured by those of the immigrants who stayed on their holdings through all the early years of hardship, made his own way there, and inspired the faith and courage of his associates. He was of the stuff of which the advance-guard of British settlers in this country were so splendidly made. As the years brought to him material prosperity he used it in public service, adding to his willing toil in local and general affairs a series of benefactions laying the whole Dominion under a debt of gratitude. Active in many ways, all of them related to the uplift of life, he was able also to carry out a cherished wish in donating very valuable tracts of native forest to be held in perpetuity as a public heritage. "It has been my great privilege," he said at the official opening of one of these noble kauri parks, "to act as caretaker of this forest: I have done my best to preserve these trees for humanity, and if they, both now and in the future, bring pleasure to others, I am satisfied ; I ask for nothing more." .Thus, with characteristic simplicity and selflessness, the wealth in his heart was placed at the disposal of others. His name will stand in many public records as a serving citizen, but these forest gifts ought to be treasured as his best memorial, for they reveal his solicitude for the pure delight and happiness of all who should come within their gracious spell. He was himself a stalwart tree, as he would have said, of God's planting: fallen at length, he yet will nourish many a sapling virtue amid generations springing up and flourishing.